Gurley's knee a "concern" | Shark Bites | Draft Sharks

A couple of big-time NFL insiders -- Jay Glazer and Michael Lombardi -- used the same word when discussing Rams RB Todd Gurley's knee this weekend: "concern." Wrote Glazer: "It is a concern. The sky isn’t falling but even now, they’re being smart about it. It did swell up on him last year, this is a knee that has had wear and tear. Eventually, you’re going to factor this in especially with them having to sit him down the stretch last year. It’s not all doom and gloom, but it is definitely something you have to monitor and be prepared for in case that thing blows up on him again." And Lombardi: "Gurley's knee was a medical concern coming out of Georgia, most of the NFL was in shock when the Rams gave him that huge deal on his second contract, not because of talent, rather because of his knee." The left knee that gave Gurley trouble late last season is the same knee in which he tore the ACL in at Georgia back in 2014. The Rams admitted earlier this offseason that they're considering scaling back Gurley's workload going forward -- and that only seems more likely after they brought back Malcolm Brown and used a 3rd-round pick to add Darrell Henderson. We'll hopefully have a better idea of Gurley's status when we get into the heart of fantasy drafting season in late August. But for now, he looks like the biggest risk/reward pick in your draft. We just bumped Gurley down (and Henderson up) the RB rankings.

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Rams HC Sean McVay said Thursday that RB Todd Gurley won't be on a snap count in this weekend's opener against the Panthers. Gurley's usage has been 1 of the biggest mysteries in fantasy football all offseason. While his volume could still fluctuate throughout the season, it sounds like he's in for a feature role in Week 1. He should be glued into fantasy lineups as a RB1.

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Rams RB Todd Gurley's start to training camp has been an "absolute success," according to The Athletic's Vincent Bonsignore. "He looked every bit as explosive, athletic and dynamic as the Todd Gurley who was the 2017 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and the one who was pushing for consideration for the same award late last season," Bonsignore writes. It's only early August. And this is just 1 beat writer's observation. But it continues a string of positive reports on Gurley over the past month after things were sounding bleak early in the offseason. Gurley and his arthritic knee still carry plenty of risk in fantasy drafts -- but he also boasts league-winning upside at his 2nd-round price tag.

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After visiting Rams camp, Yahoo's Charles Robinson projects RBs Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown to combine for about 35% of the offensive snaps this season. That'd leave about 65% for RB Todd Gurley. It'd be a noticeable reduction for Gurley, who played 86% of the offensive snaps in his 14 regular season games last year and 81% in 2017. Note, though, that only 4 other RBs topped a 65% snap rate last season. So even with less time on the field, Gurley could still finish near the top of the league in touches.

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"Todd's going to be ready to go," Rams HC Sean McVay told ESPN's Lindsey Thiry on Friday, deeming Gurley fit to participate in Saturday's opening camp practice. "We've got a specific plan in terms of monitoring his workload and a lot of that will be predicated on the feedback he gives to us. But he's feeling good." And thus begins the biggest camp storyline in fantasy football.

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Rams RB Todd Gurley is "feeling great," HC Sean McVay said. "I think, you know, one of the things about Todd is (he's a) great competitor," McVay added. "I think he's earned the right to be able to have the plan that we had this offseason. Can't wait to get him back going. I know he's ready to go." It's been all doom and gloom regarding Gurley's knee this offseason, but we'll start to get a better idea of his status when Rams training camp opens next weekend. Gurley's ADP has dipped into the middle of Round 2.

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